Return to Meadow Lake Park
On November 15th I returned to Meadow Lake Park in Round Rock to see what the morning light could do for the large stands of bushy bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus) that had caught my eye there but that I hadn’t photographed during my afternoon visit 11 days earlier. This is the showiest of the native grasses I regularly see in central Texas as the end of each year approaches. And speaking of native, that’s what this grass is on damp or wet ground in parts of many American states, as you can confirm on the USDA map (use the slider there to zoom in to the county level).
In the first photograph the light came mostly from in front of the camera,
and in the second photograph mostly from behind the camera.
© 2018 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
That’s so pretty
ksbeth
November 29, 2018 at 4:40 PM
It is. It’s a wonderful native grass in the fall and we’re fortunate to have it in many places around central Texas.
Steve Schwartzman
November 29, 2018 at 4:42 PM
Pretty!!
M.B. Henry
November 29, 2018 at 5:12 PM
That makes two in a row for “pretty.” I’ll accept that.
Steve Schwartzman
November 29, 2018 at 6:12 PM
There are some nice bluestem grasses in NY, but I haven’t seen any northern varieties with such nice plumes.
Robert Parker
November 29, 2018 at 5:27 PM
We have other bluestems here too, the most widespread of which is probably little bluestem. As you say, though, those other bluestems lack the wonderful plumes that this species puts out in the fall. It’s those plumes that have endeared this species to me.
Steve Schwartzman
November 29, 2018 at 6:14 PM
The first image gives a lovely illusion of a snow dotted landscape.
Gallivanta
November 30, 2018 at 5:44 AM
Now I see the snow, thanks to you. I remember snow like that.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 7:40 AM
I love bluestem in the fall. The birds do too.
Shannon
November 30, 2018 at 7:14 AM
In what way(s) do birds love it?
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 7:43 AM
They eat the seeds, the fluffy tops. I’ve seen red-winged blackbirds work them over pretty good.
Shannon
November 30, 2018 at 8:27 AM
I’ll have to be on the lookout for birds eating bushy bluestem seeds. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 9:23 AM
Like grackles on a fry in a Walmart parking lot. I’m sure you’ve seen that!
Shannon
November 30, 2018 at 4:59 PM
Now you’re talking something familiar. Practically every time I go to a supermarket I see grackles in the parking lot looking to scrounge fallen food. You may remember this post from 2015:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/from-whole-foods-to-central-market-ketchup-mustard-water-and-a-grackle/
The link you provided in your comment back then seems not to be active anymore.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 10:10 PM
Very Nice Steven! Love the blue sky surrounding the grasses! Makes them “pop”!
Reed Andariese
November 30, 2018 at 2:30 PM
To make those tall plumes “pop” against the sky, I leaned way over and had the camera near the ground so I could aim as far upward as I did.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 5:33 PM
I absolutely love this grass, and it’s been especially vigorous here this year. The consistent rains we’ve had may have encouraged it. I like the way both bushy bluestem and cattails take on a sepia-like tone when they’re in full fluff. I finally gave in to impulse this year and grabbed a big handful of that bluestem fluff. It was amazingly soft, and it certainly didn’t take much to get it to fly away.
shoreacres
November 30, 2018 at 9:12 PM
The record rains we had here and over by you earlier in the fall may well have contributed to the bushiness of this wonderful grass. I’ve touched the fluff but never followed your example by grabbing a big handful and then releasing it to fly away. I certainly see the similarity to cattail fluff. A bunch of plants in differing botanical plants have followed this model of seed dispersion, and many a nature lover is grateful for that.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 9:26 PM
Who would notice that the stem is blue? There is so much more to see in the bloom.
tonytomeo
November 30, 2018 at 9:52 PM
I’ve found “blue” to be a poor description of these grasses. Even when the grass is fresh in the spring or early summer I wouldn’t call it blue, and in this drying-out phase the adjective makes even less sense.
Steve Schwartzman
November 30, 2018 at 10:05 PM
It probably refers to something on the stolons than no one would bother to look for. Although blue spruce makes sense, I wonder about white, black and red spruces.
tonytomeo
December 1, 2018 at 9:14 PM
When it comes to color names, there’s more than enough strangeness to go around.
Steve Schwartzman
December 1, 2018 at 9:16 PM
Gads! I worked with hundreds of cultivars of rhododendron. Yes, it gets weird!
tonytomeo
December 1, 2018 at 10:50 PM
Great to see this plant. It’s also found in the Caribbean. I looked up the name in Spanish and it’s: ‘yerba escoba’ or ‘yerba barbuda.’ I like the whites in the first image, as well as the f/ aperture you used, because it has enough DOF to make out the background, but not too much either. They are whites that pick up the light nicely, just the right amount. Great. Now I can spot a common wildflower around here also. I started a ‘Poaceae’ (grass family) category on my blog some time ago, so now I know this one.
Maria
November 30, 2018 at 10:31 PM
I also find it great to see and photograph this plant, in fact as recently again as this afternoon. Good to hear you’ve got it in the Caribbean as well, and that its Spanish name there is ‘yerba escoba’ or ‘yerba barbuda.’
With regard to the first image, part of me wanted to have everything sharp from foreground to background, but that proved impossible, so I had to let the details fade out behind the main plant. I’m pleased another photographer finds the compromise appealing. In the second photograph I made sure to get all the parts of the bushy bluestem in focus.
Most people, including me, find it difficult to tell many of the grasses apart. Bushy bluestem has the grace to distinguish itself from all the other native species around here and to let us say that for once we know what’s what.
Steve Schwartzman
December 1, 2018 at 9:26 PM
The top picture makes me think of the phrase ‘painting with light’. I never spared much thought for decorative grasses until I saw a collection of them backlit in an American garden. Since then, I’ve been admiring them more and more.
susurrus
December 4, 2018 at 1:33 PM
I’m happy the first picture inspired you to think of ‘painting with light.’ Backlighting sure helps.
I think you’re ahead of most Americans, the large majority of whom don’t appreciate our decorative native grasses but go for imported species like pampas grass from South America. Here’s another great native grass that landscapers in Austin have been making good use of:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/like-a-pink-storm/
Steve Schwartzman
December 4, 2018 at 1:44 PM
…the showiest and snowiest!? I had the same impression as some of earlier visitors.
tanjabrittonwriter
December 4, 2018 at 7:19 PM
It’s the closest-looking thing to snow so far this year. You can put your hand in it and not freeze.
Steve Schwartzman
December 4, 2018 at 8:00 PM
😀
tanjabrittonwriter
December 4, 2018 at 8:07 PM
Showiest is right! 😊
Julie@frogpondfarm
December 5, 2018 at 12:01 AM
You said it!
Steve Schwartzman
December 5, 2018 at 8:04 AM
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